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Thursday, March 1, 2012

A Kaleidoscope of Vegetables

A Kaleidoscope of Vegetables

Mr. Fortesque was once again the only guest at our supper
table. “This is the most wholesome nourishment I’ve eaten all week. Such a
kaleidoscope of vegetables in this soup,” Mr. Fortesque praised.Lessons at Blackberry Inn

The daughter of the Lady-of-the-House made a purple potato
salad for her son’s birthday party. It is a reminder to us to eat our
colors. Are you in need of a restorative? The Lady-of-the-House knows how
admirably her readers love and serve, love and serve some more. Meanwhile her
friends are recovering from surgery. Some are nursing a baby. Others are living
with various ailments and chronic pain. The Lady-of-the-House can empathize and in this post takes on the role of big sister (naturally bossy) and mother hen (provokingly
protective).

“The best doctors in the world are Doctor Diet, Doctor Quiet
and Doctor Merryman.” Jonathan Swift (1667-1745) satirist, author of Gulliver’s
Travels.

Lifting vegetables and fruit up to a higher status than it
is given in the standard American diet is the urging of the Lady-of-the-House.
The benefits of eating vegetables are numerous. The fact that they prevent
cancer reveals their astonishing power to keep us well.

When eaten in abundance
– rather than being tacked on to a meal as an afterthought - they help lessen
pain as they contain anti-inflammatory properties. They are a soothing aid to
digestion. Eaten in place of processed carbohydrates they politely balance
weight without the impertinence of calorie counting. The benefits of a palette
of colors (eaten raw or lightly cooked when possible)
are attracting the attention of more and more women who have decided to use
their kitchens for supporting the health of those they love and serve. And
themselves.

Because they seem to be the most tender, the
Lady-of-the-House keeps an eye out for the smallest spaghetti squash. It is cut in half, seeded, baked skin-up at breakfast time. Most mornings you can find her
doing some sort of vegetable preparation. Spaghetti squash can be fluffed with
a fork, gently seasoned, and served at lunchtime in its own skin.

While a pot of oatmeal is simmering the Lady-of-the-House
may be simultaneously steaming broccoli. This super food takes five minutes to
peel and cut (peeling the stalks makes them more edible) and five minutes to
steam bright green. Cooled and set aside makes it handy for
adding to a green salad, a pasta or rice dish or blending it into a creamy
coconut milk soup. It is almost hidden to the eye when chopped (or minced) but
will add one of the biggest boosts of vitamins on your table.

Butternut squash baked at breakfast makes it ready for a
lunchtime side dish or a light but nutritious dinner desert served individually with a few
drops of honey and a pinch of pumpkin pie spice.

Romaine lettuce cleaned, cut and spun at breakfast can be
used in a green smoothie. The Man-of-the-House started this custom. His wife
followed suit. They also place dandelion greens or beet greens and orange beets
into a Vita Mix smoothie. Orange beets do not stain the hands during
preparation but the Lady-of-the-House doesn’t mind red beets when a few frozen
strawberries are tossed in the Mix. It makes a pretty pink smoothie.

Red peppers are a super food. Peeling the skin makes them
more digestible and only takes minutes.

Peppers can be diced and added to bean
soup or a quick 30-minute simmering soup of red lentils near the end of cooking.

Petite-diced vegetables and grated carrot make a refreshing
addition to a bowl of protein-rich quinoa sprouts.

Sprouting jars of quinoa, lentil and mung beans were taken
out of the dark pantry and placed on the windowsill to be photographed. You can
see how the Lady-of-the-House got carried away. She over filled her jars. This
living food takes up more room than might be anticipated as spoonfuls quickly
turn into cupfuls.

“There are ten minutes in the life of a pear when it is ripe
to eat.”Ralph Waldo Emerson

Unlike the ever-ready apple a pear is stubbornly precise about when it can be eaten. The day the Lady-of-the-House came across the above quote she
smiled and immediately related it to the avocado. Since that day she started
keeping these two temperamental fruits in the same “waiting” bowl. The avocado
is a super food that makes a wonderful baby food.

Brussels sprouts lightly coated with olive oil and a drizzle
of Italian dressing can be roasted in the oven until fork tender. This is the
preferred way the Lady-of-the-House cooks them. Still, the Man-of-the-House and
his son will not be cajoled into eating cabbage no matter how she prepares it.
“That’s okay, it just leaves more for me,” she tells them with her nose just
a bit in the air. And the next day the leftover Brussels sprouts are mixed into
pasta that is tossed with juicy roasted red pepper, Greek olives, grape
tomatoes halved, with oregano and thyme (or pesto) – fabulous.

Is there any plant food you don’t like, you might ask the
Lady-of-the-House? She admits to once repressing a gag over tofu. But when
marinated and heated in the sweet and sour glaze out of Terry Walters’ Clean Start cookbook, she has even acquired a
taste for it. This sauce flavors vegetables, too and is liked by her menfolk.

Bok choy cut into bite-sized pieces takes five minutes to
steam. The Lady-of-the-House combines bok choy with green beans and broccoli.
The sauce is pungent enough to turn a patter of vegetables into a flavorful
dish for a family four to six.

In a custard cup have ready:

2 Tbl olive oil

1 Tbl grated ginger root

Wisk together in a bowl:

2 Tbl tamari

2 Tbl real maple syrup

2 Tbl lime juice

Heat grated ginger in olive oil in a wide pan for 1 minute.
Add steamed vegetables to the pan to heat and mix with ginger. Pour sauce over
vegetables. Mix to coat. Serve on a platter.

There are many ways to serve vegetables, many ways to eat a
kaleidoscope of colors – some simple - some fussy -with new sauces, salads and
soups to try.

Snowdrops along the shady wooded roadside were spied on a
recent walk. Being one of the Lady-of-the-House’s most appreciated blooms the
Man-of-the-House took a photograph for her when a sliver of late afternoon
sun had shone through the trees.

24 comments:

I must admit, you have made me quite hungry reading your descriptions of the various veggies and how you prepare them for your family!We have a dusting of snow on the ground this morning, so my thoughts are not quite upon the garden yet, but I know that I need to start planning soon.I am hoping that we will have a warm and dry spring so our gardens will do better this year...the gardens/orchard have not done well the past few years due to the damp and chilly spring weather.Have fun planning your garden and eating the harvest!

Dear Karen - what an appetizing post! I agree wholeheartedly about the benefits and goodness of vegetables and fruits. We consume quite a lot of fresh fruit in our household, but I would love to start serving more vegetables. I was not familiar at all with orange beets - how intriguing! I am also ready now to try that delicious sounding recipe for the sauce/glaze for vegetables. How can that NOT be good? Finally, thank you for all the tempting suggestions for meals and side dishes. This post is rich (as usual) in thoughts, ideas and inspiration. Thank you for your never-failing generousity in sharing it all with us. (P.S. - the sweet prayer blessing at the end was perfect).Warm wishes -Teresa

Beautiful photos - you make the vegies and fruits look really yummy. I just requested a book from the library, The Sneaky Chef: Simple Strategies for Hiding Healthy Foods, about putting vegies in all our familiar meals. A way to fit in more nutrients in each meal. This post ties right in with that. I am making my grocery list today - you gave me some great ideas! thanks.

What an absolutely beautiful treatise on Mother Nature's finest foods! :) We love fruits and vegetables (and green smoothies) here, too, and I always overwhelm myself thinking about how big of a garden we would have to have to be totally self-sufficient! :0

The snowdrops are such sweet little flowers, and a welcome sight after a long winter without any blooms.

Love,

Marqueta

p.s. I just ordered a copy of "A Pocketful of Pine Cones," and am relishing it already!

It amazes me when the little things in our lives coincide...like your posting about a book that I've just read. This time, you've posted about exactly the topic that has been much discussed in our house this week...vegetables. We watched a documentary called "Forks over Knives" this weekend, which detailed the dangers of too much animal protein, and not enough whole plant foods in our diets. Quite convicting. I thought that we were pretty healthy eaters already, but we're now trying to boost our fruits and veggies even more. Thanks for sharing some new ideas and recipes! You have a knack for making everything lovely.

What a bright burst of color for our screens! Thank you for the inspiration. I've been remiss this winter where vegetables are concerned. We have had an abundance of potatoes, green beans, and onions. I thank you for the reminder that there is such a great wealth of variety.

Oh goodie, Ladies,You have picked up a new idea or two from the Lady-of-the-House who implores you to eat your colors. She is all too familiar with slipping into a rut in the kitchen and with disappointingly throwing food out due to blunders. "Oops, we should have eaten that avocado yesterday." Preparing this post was good for her, too.

I like to use variations of a vinaigrette dressing: sometimes with wine vinegar (with Italian herbs), apple cider vinegar or lemon juice (with French herbs) always in olive oil with something sweet - honey, maple syrup or a squirt of ketchup and Worcestershire sauce to make it "French." Sometimes I make an Asian dressing with ginger and sesame oil.

(Soybean oil is found in most supermarket dressings and used by restaurants to cook in. I read that it is harmful. The Lady-of-the-House can't digest it. And it is only what we "digest" that brings us nutrients.)

WOW! How lovely! These photos are gorgeous...love all the quotes. :) Thank you for the reminder...a salad is just what we need! That squash looks heavenly as well. I just received a huge pile of Tasha Tudor books from the library. Her illustrations are just so wonderful.

Amy

PS - We enjoyed the Lassie movie version you recommended so much. Now we are starting the book! Thank you!

Yes, It is probably because I've day-dreamed with The Tasha Tudor Cookbook open that I knew what a butter mold is when I spied it at an antique store. It is quite used. I wish I could pop back to the mid-1800s to see who the dairy farmer's wife was who used it. Tasha Tudor pictured her swan mold in her cookbook on pages 25, 34, 50 (bottom left) and 79 (top shelf above strawberry jam bottles). Happy for your visit,Karen A.